Page 31 of Sinful in Scrubs

I sank onto the couch, running a hand over my face. The evening had started so well, and now it felt like everything was falling apart.

But despite the tension with Lily, I couldn’t ignore the way my heart felt lighter after spending time with Emma. She had a way of making me feel like myself again, like the man I used to be before life had knocked me down.

The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of awkward silences and strained interactions with Lily. Jason seemed oblivious to the tension, chattering away about superheroes and asking when Emma would come over again.

By the time Monday rolled around, I was more than ready to escape to the hospital, even if it meant dealing with the usual chaos of the ER. But as much as I tried to focus on work, I couldn’t stop thinking about Emma. I practically stalked her to her office.

“I was looking for you,” I said as I stepped in.

“You were?” she asked, a grin spreading across her face and lighting her entire expression.

“I just wanted to let you know we really enjoyed your company the other day. Jason hasn’t stopped talking about you.”

“Well, I very much enjoyed dinner,” she said. “Thank you for having me over.”

“I’d like to extend that invitation again,” I said. “You’re welcome anytime.”

“Well, that might depend…” she said with a shrug. “Your kids might have something to say about that.”

“Jason would say, ‘How soon are you coming over again?’” I said.

“And Lily would say, ‘Don’t come back.’” Emma filled in.

“Sounds like you know my daughter well.”

“She’s not particularly subtle in expressing her emotions,” Emma said.

“No, she’s not,” I agreed.

“Well, I wanted to be clear,” I said. “And Lily’s feelings notwithstanding,” I said, distracted momentarily by Emma’s lips, “I very much enjoyed seeing you in my house. That could be something…”

Before I finished the thought, I lowered my head and captured her lips with mine.

The kiss was soft and warm. Her mouth was everything I remembered it to be.

I groaned against the kiss, losing myself a little too much. After all, we were at work, and we were supposed to be keeping this… whatever it was between us… professional.

But there was nothing professional about what I was feeling at that moment.

15

EMMA

It felt like every conversation I had with any nurse—or even Sarah—made it seem like everybody could see what I was thinking on my face. And what I was thinking was about Marcus. I thought about him a lot.

He had been an absolutely perfect gentleman when we agreed that whatever had happened between us—a little indiscretion—was going to remain professional. It hadn’t happened. We had not destroyed the cot in the sleeping closet for the residency students.

Neither of us flinched nor squirmed when a few days later, the gossip around the department was that the cot collapsed under a couple making out. Something they should not have been doing. I was certain Marcus and I hadn’t been the first, and wouldn’t be the last, couple to use it the way we had. I was just glad it wasn’t us it had fallen apart under.

But it was hard to be professional. It was hard to maintain my objectivity when he was so incredibly charming, handsome, and ridiculously funny. It was all I could do not to blush furiously when discussions about the annual gala started taking over.

Everybody wanted to know who was going with whom?

From what I gathered, in standard business offices, the Christmas party was the event where everyone cut loose, bad choices were made, and regrets were born. For Manhattan Memorial, it was the annual gala.

“Are you planning on going with anybody?” one nurse asked Rosa.

I was hovering around the nurses’ station between patients, ordering tests for the kid in bay three. He presented with abdominal pain, and I suspected it was his appendix. I wanted an ultrasound on him ASAP.

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